Hill Heat

Witnesses

• Nancy Sutley, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality
• Richard Kidd, Program Manager, Federal Energy Management Program, U.S. Department of Energy
• Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Installations and Environment, U.S. Dept. of Defense
• Sam Pulcrano, Vice President, Sustainability, U.S. Postal Service

Witness

• Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

10:05 Bingaman Obama proposed spending $15 billion a year on energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. It is troubling that some of the climate proposals before Congress don’t emphasize the need for energy R&D. In the coming weeks we have scheduled hearings on the DOE budget request and the loan guarantee program.

10:11 Murkowski As we look to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we need to look at all the technologies that are out there. Oil, coal, and natural gas will continue to be primary sources of energy for our nation for years to come. Also nuclear.

10:13 Chu I’m here to speak up for clean energy R&D.

10:21 Bingaman Some of us who have tried to understand these climate change proposals is that these cap-and-trade proposals would have much more impact on some sectors than others. The transportation sector has 1/3 of emissions, but putting a price on carbon is not going to substantially affect the transportation sector compared to the electric power sector. If this is the case, then we are back to trying to find other policy intiatives to deal with emissions from the transportation sector, which means R&D should be particularly focused there. Does that make sense?

Chu I agree with you. The transportation sector is most difficult. We should continue to improve the efficiency of our vehicles. We think in long-haul trucking we can reduce energy consumption by 30 percent. The electrification of short-range personal vehicles. People in cities and suburbs typically don’t drive more than 50 miles per day. We think we can make batteries with are two to three times more energy density. And the last part is how you move away from traditional fuels.

10:27 Murkowski Nuclear nuclear nuclear.

Chu The White House is supportive of nuclear. We’re looking aggressively to help restart the American nuclear industry.

Murkowski ARPA-E did not make any nuclear funding.

Chu If we received any nuclear proposals, there were only a very few. In ARPA-E, we’re looking at short-term funding, two to three years. Many of the things that are nuclear take ten to twenty years.

Murkowksi Does the administration agree we need some kind of geologic repository?

Chu Yes.

10:32 Dorgan Power of government R&D.

Chu We need a long-term signal. Industry has to get a long-term signal that carbon limits are going down. Right now, from utility companies there’s a lot of money sitting on the sidelines wanting to know when it’s going to happen. It’s money not invested it’s jobs not created.

Dorgan We’re headed to a lower-carbon future, and we need to find ways to do that. I see two issues: energy security and the need to address climate change in a thoughtful and appropriate way.

Chu High-technology vehicles, biofuels, electrification. The loan guarantee program is held up by still frozen credit. We constantly talk about this opportunity and responsibility. We see ourselves as a major innovator in the United States for our economic prosperity. If we do this right this will be a key to American prosperity.

10:40 Bunning Nuclear nuclear nuclear! Do you know how long the nuclear industry has been on the sidelines?

Chu The last plant constructed went online in the 70s.

Bunning Isn’t it time that this and other administration have failed to pursue nuclear as an alternative, if we want a green production of electricity, that that is the prime source of doing it?

Chu I would agree that it is a very important part of the portfolio we need in the coming century.

Bunning Why do we drag our feet in licensing, assisting with the moneys available?

Chu I wouldn’t characterize it as dragging our feet. NRC is working to streamlining the procedures.

Bunning If a country like France, which I don’t consider a very progressive country, can produce 80% of its electricity from nuclear, and we’re at 20%, there’s a big gap there! If we’re going to have a greener America, nuclear power has got to be at the top of the list.

Chu I don’t think we have a disagreement here.

10:45 Sanders We have a transformational moment. Energy conservation.

Chu A lot of it will actually save money. We’re looking very hard at how we can develop self-sustaining programs.

10:51 Corker I do think 35% of energy consumption can be reduced through energy efficiency. I hope we can find ways of leveraging efficiency. To me the whole vision of using underutilized baseload to charge vehicles in the evenings is something we can get behind. Nuclear nuclear nuclear! It feels to us you’re slow-walking nuclear. It’s carbon free! It makes me less trustful of the department.

Chu I can assure you that I am not slow-walking this.

Corker To the degree climate enthusiasts can figure out how to do that without it being a net extraction from people’s pockets that would be great.

10:58 Stabenow You’ve done a good job with cars.

Chu Clean energy investment will create meaningful jobs. We should not say manufacturing is not important. It’s vitally important. There are a lot of policy tools, all of them important. You need market demand, long-term signals, tax credits, loan guarantees. If hydro power is made more efficient and better for the fish, should we give them renewable credit? Yes.

11:06 Barrasso Fascinated with carbon capture with enzymes. Coal is abundant, reliable, secure.

Chu Scientists threw the tree ring data out. It’s being investigated. It’s just a snippet. There are all these warts and bumps as science moves forward.

11:14 Menendez What policies are most important to lowering the price of solar?

11:24 Wyden Import-export and commerce.

11:32 Cantwell

11:38 Shaheen

11:45 Risch Nuclear loan guarantees to move the renaissance forward!

11:45 Murkowski I’ll submit further questions for the record. I found it troubling about White House interference with nuclear funding.

11:49 Chu Energy reaches into everything. We will be living in a carbon-constrained environment worldwide. There are a lot of smart people who are very concerned about this.

Copenhagen

UNFCCC

The sessions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are open to Parties of the Convention and Observer States (Governments), the United Nations System and observer organizations duly admitted by the Conference of the Parties. In addition, accredited press is allowed to cover the proceedings of the Convention.

Participation in COP15 is restricted to duly nominated representatives of Parties, observer States, admitted observer organizations and accredited press/media. The sessions are not open to the public.

COP 15 comprises a number of sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the Convention, its Kyoto Protocol, bilateral and multilateral meetings as well as side events and exhibits.

Five Parties have recently made proposals for a protocol under the Convention pursuant to Article 17 of the Convention.

The secretariat has also received twelve proposals by Parties for amendment to the Kyoto Protocol pursuant to Articles 20 and 21 of the Protocol.

With the international climate change talks in Copenhagen fast approaching, there is real urgency to reach diplomatic consensus on a planetary solution. In a hearing this Wednesday, the Select Committee will explore with climate scientists from the Obama administration the urgent, consensus view on our planetary problem: that global warming is real, and the science indicates that it is getting worse.

At the hearing, Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) will host two of America’s preeminent climate scientists, Dr. John Holdren and Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

Dr. Holdren is the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the director of the acclaimed Woods Hole Research Center.

Dr. Lubchenco is the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States’ leading climate office.

The past decade has been the hottest in recorded history, with all of the years since 2001 being in the top 10 of hottest, according to NASA. This summer, the world’s oceans were the warmest in NOAA’s 130 years of record-keeping. Meanwhile, global heat-trapping pollution continues to rise.

Witnesses * Dr. John Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy * Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Witnesses

Panel I

• Dr. Joseph Glauber, Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Panel II

• Dr. Joe L. Outlaw, Professor and Extension Economist-Farm Management and Policy, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• Dr. Patrick Westhoff, Co-Director, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri
• Dr. John M. Antle, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Economics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
• Dr. Jude Capper, Assistant Professor of Dairy Science, Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
• Mr. Richard C. Pottorff, Chief Economist, Doane Advisory Services, St. Louis, Missouri

Witnesses

• Dr. Ray Kopp, Resources for the Future
• Dr. Ted Gayer, The Brookings Institution
• David Hawkins, Natural Resources Defense Council
• Jonathan Banks, Clean Air Task Force
• Dr. John Alic – Independent Consultant

On Friday, November 20, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will host a Clean Energy Economy Forum focused on the public health benefits of a clean energy economy with business, medical, public health, policy, environmental, and community leaders from around the country.

HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy, other Administration officials, and featured speakers at the forum will also discuss the ways in which transitioning to a clean energy economy will yield immediate and lasting public health benefits. Advances and use of clean energy will help to reduce soot, smog, and toxic pollution, which are major causes of health problems including asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature death.

In addition to addressing the public health benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving toward clean energy, speakers will focus on the need for comprehensive energy and climate legislation, that will put America back in control of its energy future and strengthen the nation’s economy, environment, and national security by breaking its dependence on oil.

Federal officials will exchange perspectives with public health experts and community leaders who have worked to limit negative health impacts of energy sources and improve the built environment, community resilience and health through clean energy choices.

Witnesses

• Dr. Walter Cruickshank, Deputy Director, Minerals Management Service, United States Department of the Interior
• Marvin Odum, President, Shell Oil Company
• John Amos, President, SkyTruth
• David Rainey, Vice President, Gulf of Mexico Exploration, BP America Inc.
• Dr. Jeffrey Short, Pacific Science Director, Oceana

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on engaging the American public to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through people-centered programs and policies. Much of the recent discussion on energy efficiency has focused on technologies. However, rapid and large scale change in energy use will ultimately be determined by the number of people who are engaged and empowered to put those technologies to good use and to redefine their own energy service demands. This briefing will examine how and why people use (or don’t use) energy efficient technologies, describe new initiatives being deployed by the U.S. military, utilities and communities, and discuss the economic and environmental benefits for households, businesses, and the nation.

Speakers

• Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), Chair, Energy and Environment Subcommittee, House Science and Technology Committee
• Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Founder, Community-Based Social Marketing; Author, Fostering Sustainable Behavior; Professor of Psychology, St. Thomas University, Canada
• Gene Rodrigues, Director of Energy Efficiency, Southern California Edison
• Richard Andres, Energy and Environmental Security Chair, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University
• Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, Research Associate, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE); Chair, ACEEE’s 2009 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference

Studies indicate that although people are often aware of the benefits of using energy more efficiently, a variety of social, cultural, and economic factors often prevent them from doing so. Even when high efficiency technologies have been installed, 30 percent or more of the energy savings that could potentially be realized through such technologies is lost, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In July 2009, Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) introduced H.R. 3247 to establish a social and behavioral sciences research program at the U.S. Department of Energy.

This briefing is presented in conjunction with the 2009 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference, in session through November 18 in Washington, D.C. The BECC Conference is co-convened by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (Stanford University), and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (University of California). More information is available here.

Witnesses

Panel 1

• Dr. Kit Batten, Science Advisor, Office of the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Tom Tidwell, Chief, U.S. Forest Service

Panel 2

• Dr. Beverly Law, Oregon State University
• Dr. Elaine Oneil, University of Washington
• Chris Wood, Chief Operating Officer, Trout Unlimited